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Lydia Khalil

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Phone: +1.212.434.9888

Lydia Khalil was an international affairs fellow in residence at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Khalil, a specialist in Middle East politics and international terrorism, has worked in the United States and abroad for the U.S. government, international organizations, private companies, and think tanks on a variety of international political and security issues. Khalil was recently appointed as a visiting fellow at MacQuarie University in Sydney, Australia, as part of the Centre on Policing, Intelligence, and Counterterrorism. She is also a nonresident fellow at the Lowy Institute as part of the West Asia Program. Prior to her appointments in Sydney, Khalil was a counterterrorism analyst for the New York Police Department, focusing on international terrorism trends and terrorism cases in the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. Previously, she worked in Iraq as a policy adviser for the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad, where she worked closely with Iraqi politicians on political negotiations and constitutional drafting. Prior to her assignment in Iraq, she was appointed to the White House Office of Homeland Security as a White House intern.

Khalil holds a BA in international relations from Boston College and a MA in international security from Georgetown University. She has published extensively on issues relating to Middle East politics, terrorism, and other international security issues. She is also working on a forthcoming book on the Middle East. Lydia was born in Cairo, Egypt, and is a native Arabic speaker.

Speakers discuss the decision by the Obama administration to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed-- the alleged mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks and self-confessed organizer behind numerous other terrorist plots--and his co-conspirators in federal court in New York City.

Listen to John B. Bellinger III, Steven Simon, and Lydia Khalil consider the ramifications of the Justice department's controversial decision to prosecute suspected September 11th mastermind, Khalid Sheik Mohammed, and his four alleged co-conspirators.

New York City has developed a sophisticated local and global counterterrorism program since the 9/11 attacks, writes CFR's Lydia Khalil. Now the NYPD must determine from where the next terrorism threat will likely emerge and how best to deploy its resources to address it.

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